Common Core Teaches Kids Government Must Be Obeyed

Schools: Opposition is rising to new national education standards pushed on public schools. They have turned schools into re-education camps for liberalism, with political statements masquerading as English lessons.

If one had to include one speech by President Ronald Reagan as recommended reading in a national standardized curriculum it might be the one in which he stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

One might pick Reagan's first inaugural address when he said, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Or even his 1964 "A Time for Choosing" on behalf of Barry Goldwater that launched him to political prominence.

The speech chosen by Common Core for its English Standards, which recommends "exemplar texts" for reading, including addresses by a host of worthy historical figures — such as Patrick Henry, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King — was Reagan's May 1988 speech to students at Moscow University.

It is a fine speech and in it he speaks of the fruits of liberty in the West and of the promise of the "Moscow Spring" but its softer tone does not speak of the "evil empire" that would soon come crashing down.

There is no stirring rhetoric on the evils of tyranny, or of the dangers of big government.

Could it be that recommending a Reagan speech that defines government as the problem rather than the solution might conflict with the subliminal messages in a worksheet that asks students to rewrite sentences to make them "less wordy." Sentences like, "The commands of government officials must be obeyed by all."

The worksheets, published by New Jersey-based Pearson Education, ask fifth-graders to edit such sentences as "(The president) makes sure the laws of the country are fair," and "The wants of an individual are less important than the well-being of the nation."

That last sentence sounds suspiciously like the old Marxist axiom "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."

The Constitution, the Supreme Court and a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government ensure fairness under of our laws. The Constitution and the laws enacted by Congress are what should protect individuals. The president should see to it that that the laws are faithfully executed.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative was cooked by a group of the nation's governors and backed by the Obama White House in 2009 with the goal of setting a uniform standard for grades K-12 nationwide. Some 45 states, in many cases enticed by federal grants, have signed on. Testing in grades 3-8 and high school is scheduled to begin next year.

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